The sound of oyster shells clinking against the iron griddle filled the air as a steaming cup of milk oysters was placed before Charles.

  Just as he was about to reach for his wallet, Old John waved his hand, stopping him. "This time, it’s on me. It’s the Landing Festival today, and business is booming; I don’t need this little bit."

  Charles pinched a bill from his wallet, gave it a quick shake, and the money flew into the cash box. "Next time, then. I just happened to have some change."

  Without waiting for a response, Charles grabbed the milk oysters and swiftly disappeared into the crowd.

  "Ah, that kid's doing well now. If only I hadn’t gotten off the ship back then," Old John mused, rifling through the cash box. To his surprise, he found a half-gold coin wrapped inside the bill that had just flown in.

  As he savored the creamy oysters, Charles looked around at the street performances. Nearby, the theater had set up a stage on the street, and actors in various costumes were energetically performing a new play.

  The story seemed to revolve around a love affair involving the governor of Coral Island. After watching for a while, the audience began to shake their heads; everyone on the island knew Governor Nico was fickle, falling in love with anyone he met, making such a romantic tragedy utterly implausible.

  Wandering through the celebrating crowd, Charles gradually melded into the joyful islanders.

  “Daddy, look! That’s the uncle who stabbed me with a knife the other day!”

  Hearing the child’s voice, Charles quickly turned around, only to see Lily’s family across the street, looking at him in horror.

  “What a coincidence, running into them here,” Charles thought pleasantly, nodding in their direction.

  The Oliver couple seemed startled and quickly scooped up their daughter, rushing toward a makeshift police station nearby.

  Chuckling softly, Charles continued on his way, encountering a circus where a rare lion roared in its cage, causing the islanders to scream in surprise.

  With aerialists, clowns on unicycles, and lions jumping through hoops, various performances unfolded before Charles, revealing the vibrant entertainment scene on the island.

  Though unsure of the effect, participating in the festival celebrations lifted his spirits significantly.

  After wandering outside all day, he headed home with an assortment of foods, including cheap grilled spider crab legs and expensive roasted beef shanks.

  These were all for Lily; although he was full, he still needed to feed the little mouse at home.

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  “Lily, I brought you some—” Charles pushed open the door, only to stop short at the unexpected sight inside.

  Elizabeth, dressed up beautifully, rushed toward him with excitement.

  Before Charles could say anything, his mouth was covered. Elizabeth’s enthusiasm was beyond his expectations.

  “Wait... the mouse,” he mumbled through her hand.

  “I’ve chased them away.”

  They were so close that Elizabeth’s sweet scent wafted over to Charles, making him feel light-headed as if he had drunk fine wine.

  Suddenly, with a swift motion, Elizabeth pushed the back door closed with a loud bang.

  After a long while, lying on the bed, Charles stared at the ceiling, feeling the softness of Elizabeth beside him, and his head began to throb again.

  He had thought everything with this woman was over, yet here they were tangled up again.

  “Elizabeth, I actually—” Charles started to say, but his words were silenced by her soft hand.

  Elizabeth gazed deeply into his eyes. “This doesn’t mean anything. I’m not trying to tie you down. You go about your business. Whenever you’re tired, come back; my position as the governor of this island will always have a place for you.”

  At that moment, Elizabeth was not her usual assertive self; instead, she radiated a gentle, youthful warmth.

  With such words hanging in the air, Charles felt it inappropriate to say anything further. If he rejected her again, he wouldn’t be able to face himself.

  After giving him a lingering kiss, Elizabeth reluctantly left, needing to assemble a fleet for her new role as governor.

  Sighing, Charles got up from the bed and headed toward the bathroom.

  Just as he emerged feeling refreshed, he noticed Lily, the white mouse, anxiously pacing around the room.

  “Will she smell something?” Charles thought, quickly moving to the window and opening it. As he turned around to speak, his eye caught a glimpse of a torn red corset on the floor, causing his heart to skip a beat.

  But Lily didn’t notice it at all. She rushed up to Charles, exclaiming, “Mr. Charles! The big guy has been arrested by the police!”

  Charles’s expression turned serious. “James has been arrested? What happened?”

  “That tall lady gave me a lot of echo coins and told me to go buy food. I went to get grilled fish, but that big fat guy wouldn’t sell it to me and hit me with a broom, and then I—”

  “Get to the point!” Charles threw on his coat, grabbing Lily as he jumped out the window.

  “I went to find the big guy’s wife to buy bread, and when I got there, I saw a lot of blood in the store. That lady was crying on the floor. I asked her, and she told me that the big guy had been arrested by the police.”

  “Do you know which district?”

  “Yes! The seventh district. A friend of mine snuck into the detention center and saw the big guy inside. They were beating him with sticks.”

  Riding the steam car, Charles soon arrived at the precinct in the seventh district. The small four-story building, painted black, stood out starkly, with uniformed officers coming in and out.

  Charles entered, quickly assessed the situation, and headed straight for the chief’s office.

  Pushing the door open, he found an elderly man in uniform writing something with his head down.

  Charles pulled out a chair and sat directly in front of him. “Did you just arrest someone named James?”

  The chief, Director Reno, looked up at the young man in front of him, his expression changing as he caught a whiff of the sea.

  He had a strong aversion to anything related to the sea; to him, anyone from the ocean was a danger. No matter their identity, they treated life recklessly. They wouldn’t care about the police, and if they killed someone, they would just escape to another island.

  Reno waved his hand, and the officers at the door, who had been ready with their guns, stepped back.

  “May I ask who you are?”

  “Charles. You’ve arrested my crew member; how much to get him released?”

  “Your crew member has killed someone; how could we possibly release him?” Reno's eyes widened in disbelief.

  “Do you think this is my first time on Coral Island? How many times has the Sea Serpent Gang’s little ears been caught by you? How much? If you don’t agree, I can use my own methods to resolve this.”